Call for Papers
Introduction
Illumin, an online magazine published by the USC Viterbi Engineering in Society Program, is now seeking article submissions.
Illumin articles explain the relevance of engineering practice to everyday activities. Our audience consists of those interested in such publications as Discover, Scientific American, or Popular Science, and includes a broad demographic of ages and backgrounds. With a global readership, Illumin articles continue to evolve as an academic resource, having been included in textbooks and university course readers.
Specifically, Illumin publishes articles that:
- Convey the influence of engineering in articles rooted in the author’s personal interest
- Identify and discuss recent events that emphasize or have been influenced by engineering
- Keep readers engaged
- Translate technical information and concepts to the general public
- Have the capacity for rich, visual content and multimedia features
- Encourage the reader to learn more about the topic
Submissions should avoid topics already published unless a new perspective is added
Article Topics
The possible range of article topics is wide since everything – from arts to sports, public policy to public housing, fuel efficiency to space exploration, the environment to the future – is influenced by engineering.
Previous article topics included:
- Fast & Furious: The Science Behind Badminton Smashes
- Engineering Test-Tube Meat: Out of the Lab and onto the Dinner Plate
- How Companies Fulfill your Deepest Desires: Neuromarketing and the MRI
- Rail Guns: From Sci-Fi to Reality
- The Dog’s Nose Knows… Or Does It? Explosives Detection by Mechanical and Electrical “Noses”
- Car Turn Signals: Why they Blink, Make Sounds, and Look a Certain Way
Article topics do not have to be confined to the author’s major. The only restriction is that the topics fulfill Illumin’s mission of explaining the everyday application of engineering. Authors should, if possible, avoid inadvertently (or directly) endorsing a product by emphasizing brand names (Nike, Apple, etc.).
Requirements
The articles should be between 1,500 and 2,500 words in length. In addition, authors should:
- Double space and use 12 point font
- Document the use of all outside sources in lEEE format (please see your text for details). Failure to do so may constitute plagiarism (see section 11 of SCampus for more information on academic integrity).
- Do a careful fact-check to ensure that articles contain correct information. This is especially important since Illumin submissions could potentially be read by a large number of people.
- Suggest or include illustrations, multimedia content, or links.
- Article submissions should be in Word (.docx) format.
On the title page, please include:
- Article Title
- Contact information (name, campus, and permanent email addresses) so editors can make contact in subsequent semesters
- Article abstract (150-200 words)
- A brief, two-line biography of the author
- A list of 5-6 keywords for search engines to recognize
All articles will be checked with databases to ensure no plagiarism has occurred. Students will be held responsible for any violations. Articles will be submitted to the individual writing instructors. The article’s grading is separate from the publication and additional editing may be required for publication. Articles with no references will not be published.
We will not publish any articles written by an AI text-generation tool. This includes any text or images significantly altered or taken from AI. Illumin is a student-written, student-edited publication. This is a core part of our identity. Having AI write articles for us instead of students defeats the entire purpose of Illumin. This would also lessen the value of the student voices included in the magazine. For more information regarding our policy on the use of Al, please reference our website.
Authors will be notified upon acceptance.